Keegan

Brother Marcus Morris, left, and Markieff Morris congratulate each other after grabbing a foul against Iowa State during the first half on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

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No need to look beyond the local college basketball team to reach the conclusion that trying to figure out how the Egyptians built the pyramids presents no tougher a challenge than attempting to determine why NBA general managers make the draft choices they make.

Oh well, at least the talent evaluators finally appear to be getting in on the secret that the Morris twins, Marcus and Markieff, both shape up as safe picks worthy of the lottery. While they remain all over the place on mock drafts, they’re both moving up. Yet, the mock drafts might not reflect just how highly their stock is soaring, according to one man who earns his living influencing draft choices.

“I won’t be shocked if both of them end up being top 10 picks,” the man said. “Everybody loves them.”

Lot to love. Neither twin ever bobbles a ball. They’re both great passers. They’re Philly-tough, don’t have any whine-and-stew to their games and bring magna cum laude-worthy basketball IQs to the court.

As the twins’ stock appears to soar, former teammate Josh Selby’s looks to be headed in the opposite direction. The grapevine that had Selby has a possible lottery pick knocking teams dead with individual workouts appears to have soured on the guard whose lone season at Kansas was marred by NCAA suspension, injury and a prolonged shooting slump. Some mock drafts have him tumbling into the middle of the second round.

What’s up? Maybe scouts are a lot like Kansas fans. The more they saw of Selby, the less they liked him. Or could it be, as one NBA insider wonders, that one team desperately wants Selby to drop to them and has spread rumors that they think he’s a bust waiting to happen?

That sort of thing happens. I once had breakfast with a few baseball scouts and the youngest of them asked the oldest what he thought of a player. The veteran proceeded to list red flag after red flag: He puts way too much strain on his shoulder with that delivery. He grips the ball tighter in big spots and once a choker, always a choker. Etc. Once the other scouts left, the veteran shared that he loved the player and routinely throws competitors off the scent when he really likes a player.

Projecting a college cager to the NBA can be tough, but not as tough as NBA general managers have made it look in recent years when drafting Jayhawks.

Darrell Arthur runs faster, is quicker, more explosive and three inches taller than Xavier Henry and Arthur lasts until the 27th pick of the 2008 draft and two years later Henry gets chosen with the 12th pick? Arthur runs the floor far better than Cole Aldrich, has way more offensive skills and is light years quicker, yet Aldrich, chosen two years after Arthur, went 11th in the draft?

And then there’s the curious case of Mario Chalmers. The most ridiculous, often-uttered opinion regarding Chalmers holds that he made himself “a lot of money with that one three-pointer against Memphis.” Huh? A long-armed guard deft at finishing at the rim, shooting three-pointers and prowling the passing lanes, Chalmers lit up Texas with 30 points in the Big 12 conference tournament title game and he lasted all the way into the second round, the 34th pick?

Why Arthur and Chalmers lasted so long and Aldrich and Henry were swept up so early — sure, it was a weaker draft, but still — remains a mystery.

So does Brandon Rush. Nothing strange about where Rush was selected, 13th in the 2008 draft. That seemed about right. He’s an enigma in that he hasn’t established himself as a player capable of earning a permanent spot in the starting lineup. He moves his feet so well and has such long arms, he projected as a stellar NBA defender, but until he learns to use his hands to play more physical defense in the manner Brady Morningstar did at Kansas, he won’t reach his defensive potential. His jumper looks like those in instruction manuals and his touch is so pure. He shot .417 on threes this past season, but that translated to just 9.1 points in 26.2 minutes a game.

Mysteries abound in the pool of draft prospects, which makes it logical that the Morris twins keep soaring and Selby appears to be plummeting. The twins have proven so much, Selby so little.

Keegan loves him some Brady Morningstar. Even though Rush is lightyears ahead of Morningstar as a defensive player. If Brady makes the NBA (doubtful, but if he does) maybe then Keegan will see that there's a difference between shutting down the America East player of the year and trying to stop the best scorers in the world night in and night out.

It's funny that you can read a whole article and when one thing jumps up, like how Rush's defense wasn't as good at defense as Brady, you KNOW that the statement was ridiculous enough that someone within the first 2-3 comments will comment about it. Wow. Brady defended MAYBE three-fourths as well as Rush did. Crazy. Brady was not that good on defense. It's just the rest of the team was so bad on defense that his defense looked decent. It's a shame, too, especially with Taylor on the team. Taylor is quick and long but didn't really make an impact. And not because of bad reflexes, but because of mental lapses.

If projections hold it looks like Selby would become the poster child for the epic one-and-done fail after all. From then on analysts would say, "This kid may turn into the next Selby." The next time an event that is so hyped becomes a big letdown people may say, "Oh that was such a Selby." Now I really wish the kid would have stayed for just one more year. Just one.

The key to Brandon is, was and always will be... He played alot with Kareem and Jaron when he was younger. those kids were incredibly talented but lacked the mental game to be elite level forces in College and in the pros. What he learned was how to guard them, and how to be effective when someone else needs the handles, and Shots.

Brandon may never be a consistant starter, but not because of his output.... It's because the NBA doesn't value Two way players as much as College does. They want you to look like you play good defense, and they like to make up statistical categories to make you look like a good defensive player. ( Kobe Bryant anyone?) What Brandon is, is what Jere Lehtinen was to the late 90's early 00's Dallas Stars, A brilliant two way player. Someone capable of shutting down a better scorer, and someone capable of providing sufficent offense when needed. Which is great for INdiana, because if there ever was a Mike Modano ( High Volume shooting, one way player ) in the NBA it's Danny Granger, Brandon's Alpha Dog.

We may never see evidence of Brandon's Worth directly shown on the Court, but like so many Jayhawks before him ( Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison, Drew Gooden, Jacque Vaughn....etc... ) He too will make a lasting NBA career out of what amounts to being selfishly unselfish, and using every drop of his ability to his best ability. Even if it confounds our Beat Writer's to no end because he does not fit into a bread Box.

As for Mario Chalmers, If there was ever Proof that Danny Ainge is not a Brilliant General MAnager, I submit drafting JR. Giddens in the First round when Mario filled both of his "guard needs." ( good shooter to Back up Ray Allen, good enough Ball handler to also Break Rondo. ) As a Celtic's fan this Draft ( Bill Walker in the Second Round ) Remains the biggest WTF moment in recent memory.

I agree with everything you say, except the made up statistics part. Do I think Kobe Bryant is one of the top 5 defenders in the league (he made All-Defense again I believe), absolutely not. I think there are plenty of specialists in the league better than him, but he is definitely one of the best two way players in the game and when he was in his prime, I think he DID deserve his All-Defense nods. And believe me, I am NOT a Kobe fan, I grew up a Boston fan. I just believe in giving credit where credit is due. Also, I've never thought Ainge was a good GM. He had one good offseason where he basically HAD to do something or lose Pierce and a lucky gamble pay off in Rondo. The Perkins trade essentially conceded the East to Miami or Chicago since Garnett basically became all talk without Perkins REAL toughness to back him up. As for the picks in 08, I agree the Giddens pick was very questionable, but I thought the Walker pick was worth the risk. I'm always a big fan of taking a developmental player in the mid-to-late second round. Plus who was even still available at 47? As far as I know, the only player picked after him that is still in the league is DJax (Sasha is still in Russia).

Agree to disagree on the Kobe playing defense angle.... All I can tell you, Kobe's defensive stats go up in the Playoffs..... Dramatically, even in his younger days, He plays defense when he's on the biggest stage, Otherwise, I am strongly convinced through visual data that Kobe just flat out Doesn't put the effort into defense unless he's in the playoffs...... especially when he was younger and a lock to score 50 on any given night to offset his lack of detail.

I'm the sort that thinks you just can't just turn it on.... ( Ahem, VCU ?) and that Kobe tries to do just that defensively.... and fails in most cases.... You want an example.... Why the Hell would Kobe let a little player like Barea run all over Fisher... It certainly wasn't because Kobe was locking down Jason Terry.... Or Jason Kidd.... Certainly any of these three SHOULD be someone Kobe could Own defensively.... but certainly did not.

""Maybe scouts are a lot like Kansas fans. The more they saw of Selby, the less they liked him." What a crock Tom. Nobody started disliking Selby until he decided to leave. Most felt for him and hoped his health would improve to make a late run in March. Stop making things up because it fills a sentence in your uninspired commentaries.

Gotta agree with Keegs,
The more I watched Selby, the more it was all about Selby. He never bought into "Team". It seemed almost every play he made was an audition for the "League". I was excited when he chose us to play for, but by the end of the season was ready for him to go, talent or no talent. HCBS plays Team ball, capital "T". Josh didn't, plain and simple.

That said, I wish him the best. The League has been his only goal for many years and I hope he makes it. The talent is absolutely there, if he's coachable.

P.S. Best of luck to 'Cus and 'Kief. You guys worked your tails off to get where you are. You're gonna make it, big time!

"The more I watched Selby, the more it was all about Selby. He never bought into "Team"."

The more I see people repeat this, the more it annoys me. Selby was, if nothing else, a consummate team player in his time here at KU. He played when asked and never complained even though you have to assume that he wasn't getting as many minutes as he would have liked. He cheered on teammates, he deferred to the established "senior" leadership, and he gave whatever the TEAM asked of him, though he didn't always succeed.

When I see KU fans talk about his lack of team attitude, I think it's nothing more than fans who are not happy (in general) with his time at Kansas, and need a way to make him seem like something less than a talented kid who came in and struggled to get in a groove.

I would love to hear of specific examples of Selby's lack of team attitude. Because I think they are few and far between, if they exist at all.

I expect to see a lot of Keegan-bashing today in defense of Selby. However, he brought this on himself. He simply was not ready. It isn't bashing Selby to say he made a mistake in leaving so early, nor is it sour grapes; I don't feel like we are weak at the guard spots for him to have made THAT great a difference anyway, even with a better year (which I'm sure he would have had). He left too early. He wasn't ready. It will cost him a lot of money in draft spots. It's not sour grapes, it's the truth.

Ive got a lot of Keegan bashing but it has nothing to do with Selby's plummeting draft stock. This was just one of the dumbest articles Ive ever written. Comparing the draft position of Cole and DA in completely different years...really? They dont even play the same position.

Agree--that dog did not hunt. DA was one of those players that the NBA is never sure where he fits. Not a center, maybe a PF, but not quite a SF. Cole was a big, pure center with some decent offensive skills around the basket. The NBA knew exactly where he fit. DA has developed and done well with Memphis but that was not predictable. Given time, Cole will earn his way probably as a back-up.

If it works out that Selby drops into the second round - and I believe he will. I will refer everyone to the poll a few weeks ago that asked in which round do you think Josh Selby gets drafted? There were a few that commented on that poll that said anyone who thinks he won't get drafted in the first round is STUPID!

Selby who? Elijah is about to explode into the college basketball world. He won't score like Kemba Walker did for UConn this past year, but he will be talked about as much as Kemba. He's going to be the biggest difference maker on this team this year.

The question is.....can Withey pull a Cole Aldrich and do the same......more offensively gifted, but lacks the defensive skills Aldrich has.

You may be right about Elijah. I believe he's ready to take the next step, and be a big time player for us. I think all he's lacked is confidence, and he seems to be finding that. Physically, he's as gifted as any guard his size that KU has had in recent memory.

Keegan you are a terrible writer and an even worse basketball analyst. Im not sure what youre good at, but you should stick to that. Let me clear up some 'mysteries' for you. First of all, nobody at Kansas "liked Selby less the more we saw of him". Thats idiotic. We wanted to see MORE of him, THAT is what people are frustrated with. Secondly, Chalmers was not even discussed in draft talk until he made that three against Memphis so its fairly accurate to say that shot made him a boat load of money. He was a great college player but NBA scouts know that doesnt always translate, but there is always room for clutch. Thirdly, you completely ignore so many things when discussing where players went in different drafts, most notably, team needs. Aldrich is a true center and Arthur is an athletic four who could use more size. Aldrich was also a far better on the defensive side of the ball than Arthur and was more NBA ready. Arthur may have had a higher ceiling, but that doesnt always translate. And all that has less to do with why Aldrich went as high as he did than the simple fact that Aldrich was a center coming out in a draft with very little talent at center into an NBA that is extremely weak with regards to true centers. Seriously Keegan, stick to writing articles about topics that were huge last week that way you can just regurgitate what a bunch of other talented people have already said.

You know Keegan is an effective writer because, one he isn't afraid to state an opinion and then explain it (right or wrong), two his opinion creates controversy (ie people get fired up one side or the other), and three he obviously has a lot of readers. 713-- several posts in this blog have said they lost interest in Selby as the year went on. Do you read the other posts? Obviously, no. Add me to the list of KU fans that lost interest in Selby that you ignore

no worries nash, I will add you to the list of people who were nowhere to be found while the kid was still playing and all of a sudden came out of the woodworks as soon as he decided to go pro. Gotcha. You people are hilarious. While he plays he can do no wrong and if he leaves before you deem him ready, he's a bust. Ive lost interest in you my friend. Oh, and the fact that Keegan gets people reacting to his work doesnt mean he is talented. If that is the case then the Kardashians and Paris Hilton are like the most talented people on earth. Seriously buddy, use your brain

713- you forgot the biggest joke in the piece, that Brandon Rush could learn how to play D from Brady. Of course that is par for the course as Keegan saw in Brady a fellow mediocrity and therefore tried to praise him when none was due.

I guess Keegan is a usefull idiot for the LJW as his posts are always comment bait. That's what is keeping Keegan from a further slide down his career path to teaching high school journalism in the Yukon Territory.

i have long predicted that Selby would not be a 1st round pick...and now that seems an almost certainty, after the report came out the Knicks have really soured on him. Plus he got hurt again (some quad injury).

These kids need that devil's advocate times two in their corner.....sitting on their shoulder with a video projector, showing him all the good players that didn't make it, and what a help a good college career would have on your draft stock. there's no way in the world, with a good soph. season, he wouldn't have raised his draft stock.

the Twins will be just fine....i wouldn't be shocked at all if they're both lottery picks.

Oakie, you're showing your age, and so am I. Good old "Captain Kangaroo". I used to watch it most mornings while waiting for the school bus. Once had a discussion/argument about which was more educational/entertaining: CK versus Sesame Street. By the way, don't forget my favorite character - Grandfather Clock. :-?

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Remember that future recruits will hear a lot of input from friends, teammates, and of course, other coaches, and when KU takes All-American high school players and they don't translate into NBA-ready players, it makes KU look bad. It doesn't matter what the underlying truth is, either. Regardless of your thoughts on Selby, for KU's sake, you should want him to succeed. Stories like Julian Wright don't help us.

Everyone knew Selby was a one-and-done. And we all knew long ago he'd miss the beginning of the season. Then he gets injuried (so did Wayne Simien and Jacque Vaughn). Then he decides to pursue his original plan of being a one-and-done. Is there really so much shock and awe in all this that we should immediately turn on the man?

Guy wins us the game against USC and everyone loves him and praises him as the next great thing. Then everything else happens and you all turn on him... and sharply I might add. Even Coach Self wasn't slamming him, even after he left KU.

Let's remember that if/when Selby's name gets called, the name Kansas will appear next to it so let's not go throwing him under the bus too much, less we find ourselves struggling to explain to future recruits why are fans aren't as loyal as we claim to be.

Completely agree with you. Like everyone else, I thought he should return for his own good and was disappointed when he didn't, both because I'd love to see him suit up next season and because I want to see him reach his peak.

And yes, he does owe himself his best effort, but we can also agree that (as you put it) b-ball has become a business and these guys from difficult backgrounds who are truly just kids and who have significant outside influence (friends, agents, parents, etc), face a lot of pressure. He's confident (justified or not) that he can make it so I guess good luck to him.

My issue isn't that he made the right/wrong decision and it's not that KU fans don't agree with his decision. It's that so many KU fans, rather than saying "you should have stayed Selby", are literally more like "I hope he fails and falls flat on his face". It goes from disagreeing with him to chastising and berating him. It's not like he brought the program down like a Terrell Pryor, beat up his girlfriend, or was some awful individual (or worse, a Mizzou grad). He simply didn't meet expectations and moved on (likely against his best long-term option), and suddenly so many seem to hope he crashes and burns. That is my issue.

Nice rebuttal KU_Alum_2001, valid points that I did not consider when making my mind up about Selby. I think it is unfair to judge him too harshly. I believe the kid is only 18-19. He has a lot of growing up to do, and while I would rather him do it under HCBS tool-edge at Kansas, he'll get there some day. Maybe his drop to the second round in the draft will motivate him to be more of a team player and accept some coaching so he can hone is talent.

Selby is in the mold of former NC point guard Larry Drew Jr. His attitude affected his game at KU. We did better statistically without him in the game. As in any organization, team work is very important, sometimes even more inportant than talent.

No, I actually think that sort of arrangement might be in the works. The dynamics are similar to when a highschool recruit commits his junior year to a D1 school. The kid falls off the recruiting guru's radar, because there is nothing more to talk about. His ranking inevitably declines a bit, or a lot, depending on if he gets invited to Mickey D, or similar.

Regarding Josh's abilities, the kid can play. Pre injury, he looked as good to me as Wall for sure, probably better from three.

Put another way, if Josh' stock has plummited, then either his injury has permanently hampered his game, or some NBA team, most probably the Knicks, is about to get the one of the great steals of any recent draft.

Doesn't make sense to me. Assuming that a player is expected do be taken #1, 2, 3, etc overall, do they then fall in their projected draft position because no one else is interested? Nope.

If it was believed the Nicks were going to take him, then people would just drop him into that slot and leave him until they believed someone with an earlier pick was looking at taking him, or they believed that team was no longer interested.

With regard to recruiting, I have seen people speculate (example: Royce Woolridge) that an early commit to a college program contributes to a decline in the ranking of a high school player, but it certainly hasn't hurt Isaiah Austin. Generally speaking, although it is possible it has an effect, I have to believe that argument is generally a rationalization by a fan base, "he's dropping because he committed to us early, and not because he isn't (as we choose to believe) the second coming or the best thing since sliced bread".

If you work out a deal with a club to take you at a certain slot, say the Knick at whatever they are picking, and you let the commissioner know his marquis player in NYC wants this deal, and it won't cost anyone an arm and a leg to let it happen, and the Commish goes along, then you put the word around unofficially, then suddenly the player's draft stock goes down, because everyone knows the commissioner has okayed the deal and wants it this way.

If you need proof.... You can go look up the last time New york's franchise needed saving and new York Lottery card somehow ended up wit a kink ( not a knick, but a Nick ) in the corner.... GUess who ended up with the first overall pick and the rights to Draft Patrick Ewing......

Why don't they just stop calling bigs power forwards, or centers and start calling them Rocky Balboas, or better yet, Mountain Riveras from Requiem for a Heavyweight"?

Where are Ralph Nelson, Rod Serling, Jack Palance, and Keenan Wynn, when we need them?

Hey, Lawrence film makers: how about making a movie called "Requiem for a Big Man?"

Its the story of a washed up former college star and NBA journeyman center punchy from "accepting" contact and playing out his string in a fictional country in the Balkans.

Didn't anyone notice the USA Today story yesterday that pictured Carl Eller and inventoried the awful conditions of all these former professional football players?

God I hope I do not live to see the day when basketball is so rough it produces the future equivalents of LaFrentz, Pollard, Collison, Gooden, and Aldrich too punchy and pain-killer addicted to function.

Your comments are right on. The tragedy for me is that college BB is trending rapidly in this direction. If you sit down low and near the basket you can watch the blood fly during a game. Some of the players don't even complain while getting mauled.

I once thought KU's less than stellar performances in the NCAA tournaments against teams they are suppose to beat had something to do with these other teams in desperation using judo tactics against the Jayhawks. I haven't thought that for 8 or 9 years.

Lots of opinions on Selby, but we won't be able to judge his decision to enter the draft this season for a number of years. Here's what Bilas said, ranking him #24 in this draft:

Josh Selby, Kansas
Selby is athletic and very dynamic as a scorer. He has a great first step, a good midrange game, works hard and wants to be good, but he was suspended early by the NCAA and was injured not long after that. We did not see the real Josh Selby this season, and he is one of the more undervalued players in this draft.

Good lead in for a song, Drgnslyr: "Shine the light, won't you shine the light..." from a well known songster (Elton John) with a song entitled "Philadelphia Freedom". Falls right in line with both the Morris twins, I'd say.

That story about the baseball scouts may be as old as the hills, but it's always good to hear it. People can be such a sad mixture of stepping on others to get ahead or to feel better about their own egos.

This year's NBA draft is, by most reasonable accounts, a crap shoot from 3-25 or 35. I believe Markieff will go before Marcus, based upon the feedback. Selby will get drafted and has an opportunity to play next year in the rotation if drafted in the 2nd round or become a seldom used bench player if drafted at the end of the first round. Selby is very raw and needs a couple of years to learn the game.,

There's one particular phrase in that article that sums up my feelings on the whole "Selby's draft stock is plummeting" perfectly:

Says Eamonn Brennan:
"Still, it's hard to believe that in this draft -- a weak one by all accounts, and one that features more undersized, risky combo guards with their varied share of negatives -- that Selby isn't at least worth a late-first round flier."

I was one of the people who, on the KUsports.com poll asking if Selby would go in the first round, mentioned that people who were saying "no" weren't using their brains. This is because for a decade or more, those of us who follow the NBA have watched team after team after team draft completely raw, unproven players on nothing but potential and ceiling. Now, if this was a strong draft class, I could understand why GMs would be shying away from Selby. But since the opposite is the case--this is an extremely WEAK draft class--I can't understand why Selby's questions have all of a suddent made him downright toxic.

I tend to think the explanation lies in something simliar to what jaybate has proffered. That some team has decided they want to take advantage of Selby's cloudy outlook and see if they can't get a potentially dynamite combo guard for a steal of a price.